I've listened to a friend's M80s (v3) in my room (he was nice enough to bring them over). However (and this is VERY significant), the only power amp I had at the time was a Crown PS-400 pro amp which is highly sloppy sounding in the bass with four-ohm loads. Although the amp does fine with 6.5 ohm on up loads, it really, really limps when the impedance drops.

That said, the M80s sounded like bookshelf speakers in my 25x15 foot room. No bass at all. We also had to bring the speakers rather close together to get any imaging from them.

I now have an amplifier that is significantly more agile with four ohm loads. I very much liked the transient speed and detail of the M80s. I could add a subwoofer or two to add more bass if needed.

So now to the questions: I'm considering three potential Axiom models - The M80, the M80 with high power woofers, or the M100. I do NOT want the bi or omni directional models due to some right-to-left asymmetry in my listening room.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of the three choices? I'm thinking that if I plan to use a subwoofer, that the high-power woofers (or the extra woofer of the M100) may not be such big deals?

Other pertinent information: I don't listen loudly; all my sources are 44.1 CD-standard audio; I have plenty of power at the 4-ohm impedance of the Axioms; My room has acoustic treatment panels and doesn't echo.

I'm also looking at other brands of speakers, and am not in a rush to buy.

Boom, your comment that "I don't listen loudly" pretty much answers your question in my view. The extra woofer of the M100 or high power woofers in the M80 provide a capacity for playing more loudly. The Axiom specs show no difference in bass extension(and none would have been expected), so the standard M80, which is already very good in power handling ability, should be amply sufficient for your needs.

JohnK is the man (I've come to trust his opinion) but I'd want to hear from Axiom on this one.

Ian quoted in the high power driver thread "there are lots of gains down low and even more than is evident in these graphs because they will play much louder before compression in the lower frequencies."

I know I'm expecting to hear a difference, specifically when watching movies where the "playing louder before compression" matters most to me.

My system already sounds great. That said if gun shots and those moments with a huge jump in dynamic range can feel and sound even more realistic and or impressive, I'm all in.

Bass is all about moving air, if you don't turn it up you wont experience it. No Speaker will produce bass that isn't already there in the original recording. Using a subwoofer will aid by the fact that you can alter its output and you can exaggerate the bass to your tastes..Larger rooms require more/larger drivers to pressurize the room.

Thank you kindly, gents. I also failed to mention that my priority is music rather than movies. I know that for true low bass, such as organ pedal tones and deep synth, I'll need a subwoofer or two. Assuming that the subs can be an option, then I'm thinking that the choice leans even more heavily toward the "plain" M80?

My audio source is fully digital, and there won't be any wow, rumble, or flutter as there might be with a phono or tape setup.

Lastly, I know that the advent of the "high power" woofers and improved other drivers used in the M100 herald the approach of "Version 4" for all Axiom speakers. How soon is that transition expected, and is it worth waiting for to get the other benefits of the new drivers? Or, to frame the question another way, is the M100 worth buying solely for the newer design midranges and tweeters (despite the fact that I won't need the woofer's power capacity)?

The M80's high powered will not give you the extra bass you are looking for, they just play loader than the regular M80's. For more bass go with the M100's if your budget will allow, they have the best bass out of all the axiom speakers. (LFR1100 with new woofer kit excluded) It's not about how loud they play but more about sound quality. If you are only going 2 channel stereo for music.. consider going with LFR1100's

So, if I understand the above conversation I should have no issues with the high powered M80's and the use of the EP500 for movies in surround mode and the occasional virtual surround setting for music?

Even with my regular old M80s and a relatively nice Onkyo receiver, I get a lot of bass for music without the sub (which is put away to make room for the Xmas tree). I have to wonder if there were some strange settings on the preamp/receiver you were using.

If I had to choose between M80's or M100 (having own both), I would choose the M100's but any axiom floor standing speaker with a sub will do, the tweeters and mids on all the axiom tower speakers are mostly the same as per the M100 except for cast basket on the mids, where it really changes it's the new 3 bass speakers that give you the extra bottom end on the M100's. Like I said in an other post the M100 have what the M80's are missing!

When you say "the extra bottom end on the M100's," you're referring to extra volume and not deeper bass extension? The specs on the M80s and M100s are virtually identical for LF roll-off. If that's the case, then since I don't listen at loud volumes, the extra volume capability of the M100 won't make a bit of difference to me. Is this correct?